There is no organization that doesn’t have such a character, either when talking about corporations, small firms or even the unsolicited neighborhood watch landlord associations (with the highest density of snoopers per sqm).

In some cases there is more than one per company, there are even special interviews held to occupy such position. Below I list few of the job requirements:

You have to know everything, even if it’s not relevant for your department;

You must not have any connection with the topic at all;

You must have experience as a demolisher, meaning the person who destroys any kind of argument; it’s right or not, it’s totally irrelevant;

The lower are your results, the better;

You have to be a skillful gossiper;

Any examples (in details) about who did what in the past, even when you advised him/her not to do it, is considered an advantage.

What you need to do when you feel that your nose is deep in… someone else’s pot:

Approach that person if you really want to help and ask from the very beginning if he/she wants feedback;

Avoid any negative statements, especially those that put the person in a defensive position from the start;

The feedback should not evaluate the person;

Don’t start the discussion with “are you stupid… “ or anything from this range;

If you attack, the (wo)man will certainly go into a defensive state and do everything to protect (her)himself bringing counter-arguments to every word you say (best case scenario);

Don’t try to force your point of view even when you are convinced you are right;

Provide an alternative, tear down only if you can build up after;

If the receiver will find your comments valuable they will appreciate the feedback and treat it as such.

So there are no illusions that snoopers are limited to one country, you have below some examples.

„I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”

Thomas Watson, president of IBM, 1943

„Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”

Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox, 1946

„Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within ten years.”

Alex Lewyt, president of Lewyt vacuum company, 1955

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”

Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

„Almost all of the many predictions now being made about 1996 hinge on the Internet’s continuing exponential growth. But I predict the Internet will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.”